Feels Lichen Home / We’re all in this together - Helen Gory Galerie

Feels Lichen Home by Carmel Seymour and We're all in this together by Carly Fischer, 30 May – 23 June 2012, Helen Gory Galerie, 25 St Edmonds Road, Prahan

Welcome Carmel Seymour! You are now part of a small, exclusive group of people I will cross the river for! Other members include mother, father, sister, lover. The End. So we went south last Wednesday night (30 May) for the opening of Carmel Seymour’s Feels Lichen Home, a most beautiful, special and delightful exhibition of art that I would put on my lounge room wall in a jiffy.

Carmel’s work filled the lovely space at Helen Gory Galerie with ease. Showing around ten works comprising delicate watercolours and sketches, detailed and perfect real and imagined elements, and a sense that the longer you looked the more you saw. Sounds like Magic Eye? Well it certainly was not because there was not a trace of tackiness to any of it. As I stood looking at the beauty of the detailed and perfect plants and flowers of one, a lady emerged, then a beautiful rug, some tiles and so forth. It told me a delicate little story that I loved.

The crowd who wore far fewer buns and beards than any northside opening, also seemed very taken by Carmel’s work. I believe this can be categorically proved by the red dots aligning with all but one of Carmel’s pieces – the exhibition was almost all sold an hour in.
Speaking to Carmel for a few moments, she told me that the works were done in Iceland during a residency. She said that to counter her cold, wintery surrounds, she bought the only seven pot plants that were on offer at the local store. Pot plants for inspiration made me laugh. Pot plants are for Mothers’ Day gifts and office desks and doctors’ waiting rooms. But for Carmel, these pot plants helped her to create these beautiful works that she described as being an exploration of our relationship with the unknown and the occult.

Clearly, I recommend that you immediately go and spend some mesmerizing time taking a look for yourself, and stat! Good day.

We're all in this together by Carly Fischer - Written by Jerram Wurlod

There’s shit everywhere. Cans discard with cigarette butts hanging out. Half screwed paper bags no doubt containing remnants of that dirty quarter pounder you virtually inhaled late last night before pissing out the last of those 6 pints you didn’t need to drink right next to it. Your not alone of course, just one of masses that continue to discard rubbish carelessly. Thankfully Carly Fishcers “We’re all in this together” installation pieces have taken the stench factor out of it and replaced it with a deliberate crispness. Its comprised of the all too familiar stacks of rubbish strewn around the place willy nilly. A bottle cap innocently placed on the windowsill here, other rubbish thoughtfully placed into that supermarket shopping bag. We’ll pick it all up later, right?

Detail is apparent upon closer inspection. Our favorite brand names abound (and plenty significant to other cultures) highlighting a deeper meaning. Not only is this about the unnecessary traces we leave but the traces global companies want us to leave. It’s a great message cleverly realized so head down and sift through it yourself.

Both these shows run until June 23rd. Check out the Helen Gory Galerie website here.